i know this is a "newbie" question, and i would like t think im not. How many miles of training (on average) do you think is enough per week for a 82 mile trip over 7-8 days on the high Sierra trail?

right now im doing about 16-20 at a good pace around town and at the gym and trying to do 8- 12 out in the local fire roads. also weight training. 2-3 times a month hitting the local SoCal mnts (baldy, san G and San J)

I don't know specifics on the miles I did but the most valuable training I did was back-to-back days. I may do 12-15 miles with 3500' on Saturday followed by another 10-12 miles on Sunday and another 3000' or so all with a heavy pack. That served me well for Denali and Aconcagua.

leroux wrote:i know this is a "newbie" question, and i would like t think im not. How many miles of training (on average) do you think is enough per week for a 82 mile trip over 7-8 days on the high Sierra trail?

right now im doing about 16-20 at a good pace around town and at the gym and trying to do 8- 12 out in the local fire roads. also weight training. 2-3 times a month hitting the local SoCal mnts (baldy, san G and San J)

you should try any combination of those peaks on a weekend via the longer routes. Baldy via Bear Canyon, San G via Vivian Creek or South Fork, San J via Skyline or Marion. if you can do it with a pack and within the next couple of weeks, even better. that should answer your question.

When training for a 3-day fastpack of the Wonderland Trail (103 miles from the Carbon River Ranger Station) in July 2008, I did a training program similar to ScottyP's routine.

I did back-to-back hill repeats routines with a 45 lb pack up 4200 ft (4-5 hours) on Saturday and Sundays.

That was more than enough training for covering 35 miles/day with a 17 lb pack. I hiked the climbs and ran the flats and downhills. If fact, it was downright wimpy with hot lunches at Sunrise and Longmire.

leroux wrote:i know this is a "newbie" question, and i would like t think im not. How many miles of training (on average) do you think is enough per week for a 82 mile trip over 7-8 days on the high Sierra trail?

right now im doing about 16-20 at a good pace around town and at the gym and trying to do 8- 12 out in the local fire roads. also weight training. 2-3 times a month hitting the local SoCal mnts (baldy, san G and San J)

you don't need to do any training for that. We did JMT in 14 days without any specific training whatsoever.

leroux wrote:i know this is a "newbie" question, and i would like t think im not. How many miles of training (on average) do you think is enough per week for a 82 mile trip over 7-8 days on the high Sierra trail?

right now im doing about 16-20 at a good pace around town and at the gym and trying to do 8- 12 out in the local fire roads. also weight training. 2-3 times a month hitting the local SoCal mnts (baldy, san G and San J)

you don't need to do any training for that. We did JMT in 14 days without any specific training whatsoever.

Agree, 10-12 miles/day should be easy since it sounds like you are already in decent shape. Of course, the more training you do the easier it will be and you'll have more energy for side trips. If you were a 50% body fat couch potato or were planning on a 35 m/d sufferfest, more training would certainly be advised.

leroux wrote:i know this is a "newbie" question, and i would like t think im not. How many miles of training (on average) do you think is enough per week for a 82 mile trip over 7-8 days on the high Sierra trail?

right now im doing about 16-20 at a good pace around town and at the gym and trying to do 8- 12 out in the local fire roads. also weight training. 2-3 times a month hitting the local SoCal mnts (baldy, san G and San J)

you don't need to do any training for that. We did JMT in 14 days without any specific training whatsoever.

Agree, 10-12 miles/day should be easy since it sounds like you are already in decent shape. Of course, the more training you do the easier it will be and you'll have more energy for side trips. If you were a 50% body fat couch potato or were planning on a 35 m/d sufferfest, more training would certainly be advised.

I'll third that. If you have sound base conditioning (regular exercise all year around... nothing serious other than a commitment to do workouts 3 to 4 times a week whether it be yard maintenance, jogging, whatever), without being overweight, additional training will do more for wear and tear (especially us older gezzers) than it will benefit when it comes to class 3 and under (I don't rope climb, so I'll leave the debate beyond class 3 to others). And don't forget the ibuprofen!